


something's gotta stick

by myn_x



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Dogs, First Meetings, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-06-09 22:24:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15277473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myn_x/pseuds/myn_x
Summary: a chance (and sweaty) encounter + the dogs that bring them together





	1. ruff around the edges

**Author's Note:**

> this is my piece for the [haikyuu!! rare pair charity zine, against all odds](https://hqrarepairzine.tumblr.com/). im so grateful to have been a part of such a blessing of a zine that everyone worked so hard to put together ^ω^
> 
> for further clarification: only chapter 1 of this fic went into the zine (there are a few minor cases of spacing/wording that differ from that of the final draft i submitted). all other chapters will go up here!
> 
> hope you enjoy!!

Such a tiny creature shouldn't be able to drag anyone around, especially since it was more fluff-ball than dog, but there Kyoutani was, being yanked about on an absolutely sweltering summer afternoon.

"Oy, Yasu, cut it out!" Kyoutani grumbled.

Anything but peaceful, the golden Pomeranian panted as he pulled the leash taut to sniff at a cluster of flowers before moving on to the next thing that caught his interest. Which happened to be a bee he'd dislodged from a petal.

 _I'm the one being walked_ , Kyoutani thought. He tried to steer Yasu away, but the dog showed no sign of slowing down, trotting to and fro in search of the insect, blissfully unaware of the danger it presented.

Luckily, it flew off before Yasu could spot it again, and Kyoutani sighed in relief.

It was also a lucky thing that Kyoutani was a dog person to begin with. When Nakamura-san asked that Kyoutani keep the convenience store open and dog sit for him, Kyoutani was quick to accept, promising to keep things running smoothly until his landlord returned. He'd already fixed the broken step at the bottom of the stairs that had sent Nakamura-san two prefectures over, to where a specialist would treat his fractured wrist.

But his landlord had left in a hurry, unable to spare any time to give Kyoutani specific instructions, so there was a lot of guesswork involved.

Managing the small corner store had turned out to be pretty simple, since Kyoutani already worked the counter some evenings to help pay for the upstairs room he lived in. Summer days were slow, which meant plenty of time for reading and breaks to take care of Yasu...who was another animal entirely.

Kyoutani crouched and pulled out Yasu's water dish from his backpack once the ball of fluff plopped down in the shade of a tree, little pink tongue curled and lolling. Yasu watched as Kyoutani poured water into the bowl, not making any effort to move.

“You are not a real dog.” They stared at each other until Kyoutani straightened up and pushed the bowl closer with the toe of his shoe. "There you are, Your Highness."

Once the dish was at the appropriate distance, Yasu began to lap up the water with gusto. Satisfied that His Royal Highness would be alright, Kyoutani took a swig from the bottle, silently cursing the heat.

Too distracted to notice the sound of approaching footsteps, Kyoutani was nearly startled by the voice at his back.

"Hey, sorry, do you have any water to spare?"

With the bottle still to his lips, Kyoutani turned to look at the stranger as he continued talking. A fellow dog-walker. He looked about the same height and age as Kyoutani, with dark spiky hair, kind brown eyes, and a slight pout to his lips. He was clearly athletic, if the cut of muscle under his fitted t-shirt said anything. His muscles had a lot to say, honestly. So much so that Kyoutani only caught the tail end of what he was _actually_ saying.

"—gave her the rest of mine but she's still dying of thirst—not literally!" he amended when Kyoutani’s eyes widened in alarm.

Kyoutani forcibly pulled his attention away from the stranger’s biceps, instead focusing on the black and tan Shiba Inu he was walking. She looked as overheated as Kyoutani felt—and his shirt was plastered to his skin.

"Uh, yeah, of course," Kyoutani finally said, handing over the water bottle.

"Iwaizumi," the man offered. He had his own dish ready, and his dog didn't wait for him to finish upending the bottle before she was noisily lapping up the water.

Kyoutani was struck by the grittiness of Iwaizumi’s voice...because now that he was listening, it was actually quite _nice_.

"Kyoutani."

He wasn't sure whether the burning in his cheeks was from the heat, how Iwaizumi’s muscles rippled as he bent to stroke the dog's head while she drank, or both. Everything. But heat stroke was imminent.

"You're a real lifesaver, Kyoutani." Iwaizumi's smile nearly beat out the sun with its luminosity. The corners of his eyes crinkled with it. It was annoyingly _endearing_.

Absolutely dazzled, it took a moment for Kyoutani to react to the praise, which kindled something unfamiliar in his chest. It puzzled him—the water wasn’t a big deal—but since he couldn't detect any sarcasm, he settled for a simple nod.

Once both dishes were empty, the dogs approached each other, Iwaizumi's dog wary of Yasu, and for good reason. But Yasu only trotted around her, tangling their leashes into a twist of purple and green in the process, and sniffed her briefly before returning to playfully hop in front of her, yipping for her attention. She tilted her chin up and away, and Iwaizumi chuckled.

It was the friendliest that Kyoutani had ever seen Yasu, who was typically both bark and bite (getting him into his harness was...a task). The other dog tolerated Yasu with grace, looking up at Iwaizumi with nervous eyes a few times. Her perfectly curled tail was wagging, though, which Kyoutani took as a good sign.

Iwaizumi moved closer to detangle their leashes.

"She's super shy, but I think she likes him."

"She's probably the only one who likes Yasu, aside from his owner, honestly," Kyoutani said, feeling a jolt of pleasure at the gentle roll of Iwaizumi's laughter.

"He's not too bad," Iwaizumi said, bending to reach out to Yasu, who barked at him until he pulled back, hands up in surrender. "Easy, Yasu-chan. He’s feisty!"

In contrast, Kyoutani had no problems stroking Iwaizumi's dog. She was soft and warm and cute, with tan spots above her eyes, like little eyebrows.

"What's her name?"

Iwaizumi had straightened up. He quietly cleared his throat before answering, and Kyoutani’s ears pricked up.

“I'm...not sure. Someone dropped her off at my parent's vet clinic a few days ago, said she was a stray, and I decided to take her off of their hands. I've been trying some more common names but she hasn't taken to anything yet."

“She reminds me of a burnt marshmallow, if that helps any.”

Iwaizumi looked at him and quirked a brow, then smiled again, big and breathtaking. Then, he said, “I thought the same thing.”

Kyoutani looked down at the dogs, willing the blush away. It was futile, really, with so much heat consuming him from outside and within.

“We don’t know who her owners were, but I put a few notices out.” Iwaizumi sounded…wistful for a moment before his cheer returned. “She’s staying with me for now, though, so something’s gotta stick.”

She was leaning against Iwaizumi’s leg, nuzzling into his palm almost as if in forgiveness. It was obvious how attached they’d grown to each other already, so Kyoutani hoped it worked out where Iwaizumi would be able to keep her.

“Yeah.”

"Well, I’m sorry to take your water away. Can I get you another? There’s a corner store nearby, I think."

Break time was nearly over, and there was no harm in bringing someone back to the store, so Kyoutani obliged, heart hammering in his chest the entire walk back. _He’s just being nice, you idiot_.

Iwaizumi mercifully kept back-and-forth conversation to a minimum, telling Kyoutani about how he grew up around animals and wanted to take over his family’s clinic when the time came. He didn’t seem to mind that he was doing most of the talking.

And Kyoutani was content with listening, wishing that he too had a noble goal like Iwaizumi’s. He hastily unlocked the store’s front door and let the other three inside ahead of him.  

“I live upstairs, and I’m working here by myself for now,” he explained, terse to his own ears. “Drinks are over there.”

Both dogs were grateful for the air conditioning, Iwaizumi’s dog splaying out on the cool tile while Kyoutani put Yasu behind the counter to give her a break.

Iwaizumi walked up with two waters and a wide grin. "So, I’ve been wanting to ask...where'd you get them pierced?"

"Huh?"

In reply, Iwaizumi pointed at his chest, and that's when Kyoutani remembered that his white shirt was damp with his sweat, which made his piercings very conspicuous.

It was a wonder that Kyoutani didn't combust on the spot, but he schooled his expression into nonchalance. "Oh, there's a place down the street from here. They do tattoos and piercings and stuff.”

“I might check it out,” Iwaizumi said, winking cheekily. “Been wanting to get inked.”

Kyoutani focused on ringing up the water, ignoring the totally inappropriate uptick in his heart rate.

“So...you know a lot about animals, right? Dogs?”

Iwaizumi nodded, switching gears readily. “Some stuff, yeah.” He opened his water and motioned for Kyoutani to continue.

“How do you…” The question felt heavy on Kyoutani’s tongue. Watching Iwaizumi’s Adam’s apple bob as he drank was hardly better than looking him in the eye. “How do you comfort them when their owner’s away?”

“That’s easy. Do you have anything of the owner’s, like a shirt or jacket? Their scent is reassuring even when they’re not around.”

“Yeah, makes sense. Thanks.” There were plenty of things Nakamura-san had lying around in the back, seeing as he lived there, too.

“Anything else?” Something like hope thrummed under Iwaizumi’s words, glinted in his eyes.

“No, but, uh, thanks for the water.” Kyoutani took his bottle and bumped it against Iwaizumi’s. “I gave you the family discount, so yours is free.”

Iwaizumi’s eyebrows shot up, voice airy with mock indignation. “No fair, I was supposed to pay you back you for saving my nameless marshmallow’s life!”

Kyoutani couldn’t help but snort, lips curling into a grin as he rose to the challenge. He set the bottle aside and leaned forward onto the counter, into Iwaizumi’s space.

“I said _yours_ was free. And you just gave me some good advice.”

“Well, I still feel indebted,” Iwaizumi said, mouth falling into a pout. Then it melted away, something softer taking its place. “How ‘bout I, er, give you my number in case you have any more questions?”

It was the first note of hesitancy that Kyoutani had detected from Iwaizumi. The blush was back in full force now, but at least it was mutual this time.

Kyoutani grunted a laugh to mask his nerves and keep up his cool attitude. “If I give you mine, won’t you still owe me, Iwaizumi?”

“We could always work something out later, can’t we?” Iwaizumi had recovered—his voice had somehow dropped even lower, making the hairs stand up on the back of Kyoutani’s neck.

Kyoutani—desperately, he realized—wanted to see where this would take them. His composure was about to crack, heartbeat like thunder in his ears, but he still managed to arch a brow at Iwaizumi.

“I suppose we can.”


	2. seems a bit far-fetched

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha looks like this will go on for a few more chapters ;D

Later, once Iwaizumi said goodnight he and “Marshmallow” went home, Kyoutani closed the shop for the evening, too overwhelmed from the encounter to comfortably keep it open. It had been a slow day anyhow.  

Yasu was also worn out from all the excitement, so Kyoutani carried him up and put him in his favorite round bed, which he’d stuck at the foot of his futon.

“You ever just click with someone, Yasu?”

Yasu’s ears twitched, but he was more interested in the sweater Kyoutani had laid on top of his bed.

Kyoutani snuck a scritch behind one of Yasu’s ears, smiling wryly. “Even you, huh?”

No sooner than he’d spoken than a clap of thunder sent Yasu hurtling toward Kyoutani with a yelp. Kyoutani bent to scoop him up without thinking and backed into to the hallway, sliding down the opposite wall with the shaking dog in his lap.

“Shh, it’s alright,” Kyoutani murmured, his own heart pounding underneath his ribcage.

He held Yasu still with one hand and stroked the other over Yasu’s tiny head, slow and easy, willing all the calmness he didn’t feel into the dog’s body. Yasu was quivering so much that Kyoutani put away his own fear, focusing instead on reassuring Yasu.  

Yasu curled up in his lap, nosing into Kyoutani’s palm the second he had the audacity to stop petting him. He eventually stopped shaking, though, so Kyoutani took what comfort he could from the little space heater in his lap.

Kyoutani was tempted to fish his phone out of his pocket, to make sure Iwaizumi and Marshmallow got home safe, to have someone to talk to to distract himself from the storm, but he couldn’t move his hands away from Yasu, who was much more afraid, who didn’t know why the sky was so angry.

More thunder rumbled, followed by a heavy rain that drummed against the roof. Kyoutani shivered at the angry sounds of the storm and looked up, as if boring eye-shaped holes through the ceiling would make it go away more quickly.  

Yasu started squirming, and it was enough that Kyoutani finally pulled his hands away, partially to see what Yasu would do. Kyoutani put his money on him running back to the preferred comfort of his bed and Nakamura-san’s sweater.

But he stood on his hind legs and put his paws on Kyoutani’s chest, panting hard enough that Kyoutani twisted up his face at his doggy breath. His grimace melted into a surprised laugh as Yasu messily licked at his cheeks and nose and mouth with his little wet tongue, determined to get at every square inch of his skin he could reach.

“Hey, okay, okay, I’m okay!” Kyoutani couldn’t take the ticklish feeling of the excitable mass of fur much longer, completely astonished at the show of affection.

And when Yasu finally clambered off and looked back at him, Kyoutani swore that he was smiling.

Later than Kyoutani would have liked, the storm let up a bit and the thunder subsided. Rain continued to pour, but for now, they were safe.

Kyoutani coaxed Yasu back into the bedroom, but he refused to get in his bed, even when Kyoutani tried to lure him with the sweater. He sat down on his futon, at a loss and about to give up, when Yasu gingerly took a few steps toward him, an unsure whine in his throat.

An unlikely idea formed in Kyoutani’s head.

“C’mere, you,” he said, patting the space next to him, and Yasu trotted closer with more confidence.

He stopped right at Kyoutani’s knees, eyes bright and expectant, tail wagging nervously.

Kyoutani laid the sweater on the futon near his pillow. He was hardly finished flattening it out before Yasu was circling over it.

After about eight turns, Yasu found his sweet spot and plopped down, and Kyoutani pulled an arm of the sweater over him.

“You better not hog the bed,” Kyoutani warned, pointing his finger in line with Yasu’s snout.

Yasu just looked at him, then nuzzled into the fabric of the sweater with a deep sigh and closed his eyes.

“Aren’t you just the picture of comfort.” He said it to tease, but there was no heat in Kyoutani’s voice.

He thought it amazing, how in a few hours his and Yasu’s relationship had gone from one built on tolerance to one of increasing trust, on both ends.

Kyoutani guessed he had Iwaizumi to thank for that.

This time, Kyoutani didn’t hesitate to reach for his phone, taking a picture of Yasu and sending it to his newest contact before he could really think about it.

He waited for a moment, and then it hit him. In his haste, he didn’t put his name, or any caption at all, but the phone buzzed sooner than he could type and send an explanation.

**_so it worked, huh -10:38 p.m._ **

Kyoutani stared at the four words as if they had some deeper meaning. All he could come up with was that Iwaizumi didn’t have to be told who the photo was from, and Kyoutani scolded himself for panicking. Who else. Who else would have sent Iwaizumi a picture of a dog he’d met no less than half a day earlier.

Thumbs dancing above the keyboard, Kyoutani tried to think of a clever reply, but another buzz nearly made him drop the phone.

**_well im glad. hope the storms not too bad by you. get some rest [img] -10:43 p.m._ **

Kyoutani laid down and rolled over on his stomach, reading and rereading the message. And once he finally tapped the screen to open the attachment, he sorely wished he hadn’t.

It was just an innocent photo of Iwaizumi in bed, with Marshmallow asleep and tucked under his arm. But not so innocent was the cheeky grin, and the way his shirt rode up, exposing the pixelated flat of his stomach. It wasn’t really much to judge by, since the lighting was poor, too, but Kyoutani’s imagination was already running rampant.

Had Iwaizumi taken this picture—or multiple even, maybe, probably—and sent this one on purpose?

Kyoutani felt heat flare in his cheeks. It was too cute, and it was too _hot_ for there to not to be any kind of intention behind it.

He angrily mashed his thumb down and selected one of the options that popped up, then locked his phone, unlocked it again, stared, then locked it and shoved it under his pillow, then took it out and unlocked it again.

With Yasu pressed to his side and that picture in his hands, Kyoutani gave up all hope of getting any rest. His phone felt an infinite amount of degrees hotter since he pressed **_Save_**.

So he texted Watari, who replied instantly.  
  
**_wat u mean???? -10:59 p.m._ ** ****__  
  
Kyoutani took a deep breath. 

_if u wanted to flirt w someone would u send them a pic of u in bed -11:01 p.m._

**_who are u trying to sext, kenchan ;3 -11:01 p.m._ ** ****__  
  
Kyoutani buried his burning cheeks in his pillow as he typed a hurried response.

_no one u idiot just answr my question -11:02 p.m._

**_haha i mean, sure? but sending any kind of selfie could count as flirting tbh -11:02 p.m._ **

_uhhhh that really helps, thnx -11:02 p.m._

Kyoutani was lying. Now he was even less sure of what to say back to Iwaizumi, who probably wasn’t expecting a reply at all.

_and i met someone today, hes really nice -11:02 p.m._

**_anytime 11:03 p.m._ **

**_did he send u a pic or smth? arent u gonna show me?? i wanna seeeeee -11:03 p.m._ **

Gosh, Watari always caught on so quickly.

_absolutely NOT -11:03 p.m._

**_pleeeeease -11:03 p.m._ **

_GOOD NIGHT! -11:03 p.m._

**_ur no fun /: -11:04 p.m._ **

**_goodnight and good luck w mystery guy ;D -11:06 p.m._ **

Kyoutani sighed and sent double peace signs just to be sure Watari wouldn’t stay up thinking he was mad. Watari was his best and only friend, and his intentions were pure, even when they seemed to be anything but.  

If Kyoutani were to show Watari what Iwaizumi looked like, he’d need a better picture. He’d need options. And for that to happen, Kyoutani would have to keep texting Iwaizumi and hope that he was actually trying to flirt with him—and that Watari was right.

 

It wasn't until early the next morning that Kyoutani remembered that he never responded to Iwaizumi.

"I'm off to a great start," he mirthlessly told Yasu, who'd managed to take over the entire futon save for the tiny sliver at one edge that Kyoutani occupied. "Just great."

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](http://fucklev.tumblr.com) || [twitter](https://twitter.com/lovedeluxxxe)


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